Mechanism for facilitating evaluation of data types for dynamic lightweight objects in an on-demand services environment

ABSTRACT

In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms and methods for facilitating evaluation of data types for dynamic lightweight objects in an on-demand services environment. In one embodiment and by way of example, a method includes uploading a data file having data at a first computing device in response to a request, and detecting data types relating to the data within the data file. The detecting includes scanning data rows and data columns of the data file. The method may further include classifying the detected data types into one or more categories, and creating one or more dynamic objects based on the one or more categories.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/672,314, entitled MECHANISM FOR FACILITATINGEVALUATION OF DATA TYPES FOR DYNAMIC LIGHTWEIGHT OBJECTS IN AN ON-DEMANDSERVICES ENVIRONMENT, by Gary Baker, et al., filed Mar. 30, 2015, nowallowed, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/691,452, entitled “MECHANISM FOR FACILITATING EVALUATION OFDATA TYPES FOR DYNAMIC LIGHTWEIGHT OBJECTS IN AN ON-DEMAND SERVICESENVIRONMENT”, by Gary Baker, et al., filed Nov. 30, 2012, now issued asU.S. Pat. No. 8,996,569, which claims the benefit of and priority toU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/625,746, entitled “METHODSAND SYSTEMS FOR CREATING LIGHTWEIGHT CUSTOM OBJECTS IN AN ON-DEMANDSERVICES ENVIRONMENT” by Gary Baker, filed Apr. 18, 2012, and U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/639,157, entitled “METHODS ANDSYSTEMS FOR EVALUATING A DATA TYPE IN A LIGHT-WEIGHT CUSTOM OBJECT” byGary Baker, et al., filed Apr. 27, 2012, and U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/640,476, entitled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR EFFICIENTUPLOADING OF OBJECT DATA” by Gary Baker, et al., filed Apr. 30, 2012,and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/640,483, entitled“METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR CREATING A TABLE” by Gary Baker, et al., filedApr. 30, 2012, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/640,487,entitled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR CREATING A TABLE FROM A REPORT” byGary Baker, et al., filed Apr. 30, 2012, and U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/640,495, entitled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR UPDATING ATABLE” by Frank Lopez, filed Apr. 30, 2012, the entire contents of allare incorporated herein by reference and the benefit of and priority toall is claimed thereof.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

TECHNICAL FIELD

One or more implementations relate generally to data management and,more specifically, to a mechanism for facilitating evaluation of datatypes for dynamic lightweight objects in an on-demand servicesenvironment.

BACKGROUND

Even with the growing use of databases, social network websites, etc.,entities or objects offered by service providers are limited to aservice provider's default entities and thus do not extend their users(e.g., customers of service providers, etc.) any significant level ofcustomization control over their databases, tables, reports, files, etc.

The subject matter discussed in the background section should not beassumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in thebackground section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the backgroundsection or associated with the subject matter of the background sectionshould not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the priorart. The subject matter in the background section merely representsdifferent approaches.

In conventional database systems, users access their data resources inone logical database. A user of such a conventional system typicallyretrieves data from and stores data on the system using the user's ownsystems. A user system might remotely access one of a plurality ofserver systems that might in turn access the database system. Dataretrieval from the system might include the issuance of a query from theuser system to the database system. The database system might processthe request for information received in the query and send to the usersystem information relevant to the request. The secure and efficientretrieval of accurate information and subsequent delivery of thisinformation to the user system has been and continues to be a goal ofadministrators of database systems. Unfortunately, conventional databaseapproaches are associated with various limitations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following drawings like reference numbers are used to refer tolike elements. Although the following figures depict various examples,one or more implementations are not limited to the examples depicted inthe figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates a computing device employing a mechanism forfacilitating management and customization of lightweight objectsaccording to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a mechanism for facilitating management andcustomization of dynamic lightweight objects according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a transaction sequence for facilitating managementand customization of lightweight objects according to one embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a method for facilitating management andcustomization of lightweight objects according to one embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates a computer system according to one embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an environment wherein anon-demand database service might be used according to one embodiment;

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of elements ofenvironment of FIG. 6 and various possible interconnections betweenthese elements according to one embodiment;

FIG. 8 illustrates detecting and evaluating a data type in an input datafile for generating relevant lightweight dynamic custom objectsaccording to one embodiment; and

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate processes in accordance with FIG. 8 accordingto one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Methods and systems are provided for facilitating evaluation of datatypes for dynamic lightweight objects in an on-demand servicesenvironment. In one embodiment and by way of example, a method includesuploading a data file having data at a first computing device inresponse to a request, and detecting data types relating to the datawithin the data file. The detecting includes scanning data rows and datacolumns of the data file. The method may further include classifying thedetected data types into one or more categories, and creating one ormore dynamic objects based on the one or more categories.

As used herein, a term multi-tenant database system refers to thosesystems in which various elements of hardware and software of thedatabase system may be shared by one or more customers. For example, agiven application server may simultaneously process requests for a greatnumber of customers, and a given database table may store rows for apotentially much greater number of customers. As used herein, the termquery plan refers to a set of steps used to access information in adatabase system.

Embodiments are described with reference to an embodiment in whichtechniques for facilitating management of data in an on-demand servicesenvironment are implemented in a system having an application serverproviding a front end for an on-demand database service capable ofsupporting multiple tenants, embodiments are not limited to multi-tenantdatabases nor deployment on application servers. Embodiments may bepracticed using other database architectures, i.e., ORACLE®, DB2® by IBMand the like without departing from the scope of the embodimentsclaimed.

Next, mechanisms and methods for facilitating evaluation of data typesfor dynamic lightweight objects in an on-demand services environmentwill be described with reference to example embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a computing device 100 employing a mechanism forfacilitating management and customization of lightweight objects(“dynamic objects mechanism”) 110 according to one embodiment. In oneembodiment, computing device 100 serves as a host machine employingdynamic objects mechanism 110 for providing dynamic creation andmanagement of lightweight objects for facilitating user-control ofcustomization of user data as desired or necessitated by a user (e.g., acompany, a corporation, an organization, a business, an agency, aninstitution, etc.). The user refers to a customer of a service provider(e.g., Salesforce.com) that provides and manages dynamic objectsmechanism 110 at a host machine, such as computing device 100.

Computing device 100 may include server computers (e.g., cloud servercomputers, etc.), desktop computers, cluster-based computers, set-topboxes (e.g., Internet-based cable television set-top boxes, etc.), andthe like. Computing device 100 may also include smaller computers, suchas mobile computing devices, such as cellular phones includingsmartphones (e.g., iPhone® by Apple®, BlackBerry® by Research inMotion®, etc.), handheld computing devices, personal digital assistants(PDAs), etc., tablet computers (e.g., iPad® by Apple®, Galaxy® bySamsung®, etc.), laptop computers (e.g., notebooks, netbooks,Ultrabook™, etc.), e-readers (e.g., Kindle® by Amazon.com®, Nook® byBarnes and Nobles®, etc.), Global Positioning System (GPS)-basednavigation systems, etc.

Computing device 100 includes an operating system (OS) 106 serving as aninterface between any hardware or physical resources of the computingdevice 100 and a user. Computing device 100 further includes one or moreprocessors 102, memory devices 104, network devices, drivers, or thelike, as well as input/output (I/O) sources 108, such as touchscreens,touch panels, touch pads, virtual or regular keyboards, virtual orregular mice, etc. It is to be noted that terms like “node”, “computingnode”, “client”, “client device”, “server”, “server device”, “cloudcomputer”, “cloud server”, “cloud server computer”, “machine”, “hostmachine”, “device”, “computing device”, “computer”, “computing system”,“multi-tenant on-demand data system”, and the like, may be usedinterchangeably throughout this document. It is to be further noted thatterms like “application”, “software application”, “program”, “softwareprogram”, “package”, and “software package” may be used interchangeablythroughout this document.

FIG. 2 illustrates a mechanism for facilitating management andcustomization of dynamic lightweight objects 110 according to oneembodiment. In one embodiment, dynamic objects mechanism 110 provides aninfrastructure to support a larger than conventional to unlimited numberof lightweight objects or entities (also referred to as “tables”, “newobjects”, “custom objects”, “dynamic custom objects”, “dynamic objects”,“my custom objects” or simply “MCOs”) per tenant in a multi-tenantdatabase for user-controlled customization of data and its presentation,while conventional objects or entities may be further referred to as“default objects”, “administered custom objects”, “administeredobjects”, “default objects”, “traditional objects”, etc. For example,lightweight objects may be allowed to use larger identifier (ID) space(e.g., 15 chars) than the more conventional keyprefix space (e.g., 3chars) to differentiate custom data by type and support an unlimitednumber of lightweight objects per tenant (as opposed to the default oradministered objects that have a limited namespace of, for example,about 4000 types and an artificial limit to, for example, about 2000).Throughout the document, it is contemplated that embodiments permitsupporting an unlimited number of custom objects per tenant or, in otherwords, within the context of a tenant, an unlimited number of tables aresupported. Further, in one embodiment, lightweight objects may help loadmetadata “on the fly” along with actual data to avoid caching massiveamounts of metadata to describe a rather large number of object types,while hiding the metadata from administrative views to avoid displayingtoo much clutter. Dynamic objects mechanism 110 may support thisproliferation of object types by, for example, storing type IDs alongwith record IDs in the index as well as expanding the maximum size for asearch bucket Id and further, allowing new lightweight objects to besharable with the existing default objects in a private sharing model.The use of the term “lightweight”, “tables”, “my custom object” or “MCO”should not be read to limit embodiments to objects that carry that labelin products or in literature external to this document. Terms like“objects” and “entities” may be used interchangeably throughout thisdocument.

It is contemplated that an administrative user typically includes anauthorized and/or trained user, such as a system administrator, asoftware developer, a computer programmer, etc. In contrast, an end-usermay be any user that can access a client computing device, such as via asoftware application or an Internet browser. In light of this and in oneembodiment, lightweight “tables” or “MCOs” differ from administeredobjects in that any number and type of tables/MCOs can be created pertenant or within a single tenant by end-users or non-administrativeusers, while conventional custom objects may only be created byadministrative users and are limited to a particular amount, such as2000 objects per tenant. Standard custom objects may be part of aservice provider's default offering for all its customers (although somelicensing restrictions may apply).

Dynamic object definitions may be stored in a standard_entity_datatable, while, in contrast, custom entity definitions may be stored in acustom_entity_definition table. Any fields that are dynamically added toeach dynamic object may be based on the fields in the imported file. Forexample, a user, via client computing device 240, may access any numberof MCOs (e.g., 65,536 MCOs) since each dynamic object entity may nothave a unique key prefix that is stored in database 225. Entity IDs foreach loaded dynamic object may be dynamically calculated when dynamicobjects are loaded from database 225 for a specific user. Thesecalculated IDs may not be saved at database 225. For example, there maybe a unique 0U0 ID for each dynamic object that is stored in thestandard_entity_data_id column within the standard_entity_data table.This allows a user to uniquely refer to an MCO from a feeds item, etc.

In one embodiment, a user, via user interface 244 provided throughclient-based application 242 at client computing device 240, maygenerate dynamic objects (and may use them with administered objects) tomanipulate and view data and related metadata in a particular format(e.g., table, etc.) as desired or necessitated by the user. Examples ofusers may include, but are not limited to, customers, such asorganizational customers (e.g., small and large businesses, companies,corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, non-profitorganization, etc.) of a service provider (e.g., Salesforece.com) and/orindividual customers, such as individuals or end-users, of theorganization customers. It is to be noted that terms like “user”,“customer”, “organization”, “business”, “company”, etc., may be usedinterchangeably throughout this document.

For example and in one embodiment, dynamic objects may differ fromadministered custom objects in several ways, such as dynamic objects may(1) have virtually unlimited key space, they are (2) not residual inmemory, (3) not cached, and (4) are considered user data. With regard tounlimited key space, for example, administered objects may have akeyspace of roughly, for example, 4000, so any database tenant may haveonly 4000 objects defined (or even limited to 2000). The administeredobject limit of 2000, for example, may be due to the limited reservedarea of memory in the residual memory which holds these administeredcustom objects. Dynamic object-based tables may have a virtuallyunlimited keyspace (such as, not limited to, in the billions), soinstead of two character designation, they may have a full 15 characterID, which means a virtually unlimited number of dynamic objects may begiven to any given tenant. Further, dynamic objects, in one embodiment,are transient and thus, for each request, additional memory is createdand then released at the end of the request. Using this technique, norestrictions or limits are imposed on the newly-created dynamic objects.

Additionally, in on embodiment, any metadata for dynamic objects is notcached and instead, the metadata is fetched along with the correspondingdata whenever a request is placed or received. Without having tocontinuously cache metadata, a potentially unlimited number of dynamicobjects may be created. With regard to user data, setup data isdistinguished from non-setup or user data, such as administered objects,user profiles, etc., may be considered setup data, while accounts,leads, opportunities, etc., are considered non-setup or user data.Similarly, table definitions may be considered user data to bedistinguished from any other metadata.

In one embodiment, dynamic objects mechanism 110 may be employed at aserver computing system, such as computing device 100 of FIG. 1, and maybe in communication with one or more client computing devices, such asclient computing device 240, over a network, such as network 230 (e.g.,a cloud-based network, the Internet, etc.). As aforementioned, a usermay include an organization or organizational customer, such as acompany, a business, etc., that is a customer to a provider (e.g.,Salesforce.com) that provides access to dynamic objects mechanism 110(such as via client computer 240). Similarly, a user may further includean individual or a small business, etc., that is a customer of theorganization/organizational customer and accesses dynamic objectsmechanism 110 via another client computing device. Client computingdevice 240 may be the same as or similar to computing device 100 of FIG.1 and include a mobile computing device (e.g., smartphones, tabletcomputers, etc.) or larger computers (e.g., desktop computers, servercomputers, etc.).

In one embodiment, dynamic objects mechanism 110 facilitates generationand use of dynamic objects (e.g., lightweight objects) along withadministered objects to allow the user to manipulate, share, and presentdata/metadata any number of products, such as databases, social/businessnetwork websites, etc. For example, the technique may be applied to anynumber and type of social and business networking products, such asChatter® by Salesforce.com, Facebook®, LinkedIn®, etc. Further, forexample, using dynamic objects, instead of separately emailing aspreadsheet to each member of a group (e.g., accounting depart) of acompany or organization, a member may choose to share data using aspreadsheet in a particular format (e.g., Excel® by Microsoft®, Numbers®by Apple®) on a business networking website (e.g., Chatter, etc.) withall or some members of the group even if the networking website does nottypically support spreadsheets or particular forms of spreadsheets. Inone embodiment, this is achieved by using dynamic objects mechanism 110to generate the necessary number and type of dynamic objects (thatsupport the spreadsheet) to work with the administered objects (alreadysupported by the website) so that the spreadsheet may be shared anddisplayed on the website. It is contemplated that embodiments are notlimited to any particular product, software application, website, suchas Chatter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc., just as the data/metadata is notlimited to any particular product/format, such as spreadsheets (e.g.,Excel, Numbers, etc.), word processing applications (e.g., Word® byMicrosoft, Pages® by Apple, etc.), presentation applications (e.g.,PowerPoint® by Microsoft, Keynote® by Apple, etc.), browsers (e.g.,Explorer® by Microsoft, Safari® by Apple, etc.), etc.

In the illustrated embodiment, dynamic objects mechanism 110 may includevarious components, such as authentication logic 202, request receptionlogic 204, processing logic 206 (including detection module 208 havingscanner 209, decision module 210, creation module 212, import module214, conversion module 216), reporting logic 218, communication/accesslogic 220, and compatibility logic 222. Dynamic objects mechanism 110 isin communication with database 225 to store data and metadata relatingto administered and dynamic objects. Object mechanism 110 is further incommunication with any number and type of client computing devices, suchas client computing device 240 over network 230. Throughout thisdocument, the term “logic” may be interchangeably referred to as“component” or “module” and may include, by way of example, software,hardware, and/or any combination of software and hardware, such asfirmware. This combination of components provided through dynamicobjects mechanism 110 facilitates user-based control and manipulation ofparticular data products/software applications (e.g., social websites,business websites, word processing, spreadsheets, database products,etc.) to be manipulated, shared, communicated, and displayed in anynumber and type of formats as desired or necessitated by user andcommunicated through user interface 244 at client computing device 240and over network 230.

In one embodiment, authentication logic 202 may be used to authenticatea user/customer and/or computing device 240 before the user is allowedto access and use dynamic objects mechanism 110. It is contemplated thatin some embodiments, the authentication process may be a one-timeprocess conducted when computing device 240 is first allowed access todynamic objects mechanism 110 or, in some embodiments, authenticationmay be a recurring process that is performed each time a request forcreating and/or using a dynamic object (is placed via computing device240 and further via user interface 244) is received by request receptionlogic 204 at components mechanism 110 at the cloud-based server computerover network 230.

Once the request to generate one or more dynamic objects is received atrequest reception logic 204, it is then sent to processing logic 206 forprocessing so that the dynamic objects may be generated and properlyapplied. For example, placing or receiving a request for creatingdynamic objects may include having a user (e.g., accounting manager at acompany, etc.) place a request to share data/metadata (e.g., companyannual report) with other individuals at the company (e.g., accountinggroup, Central Financial Officer (CFO), etc.) using a software product(e.g., Excel spreadsheet) that is not supported by a website or businessapplication (e.g., Chatter). In other words, for example, when a userrequests a particular format or product to share, communicate, displayor use data/metadata on a business application/website, the request maybe interpreted as a request to generate a necessary set of dynamicobjects so that the requested format may be supported by the businessapplication/website, which is not typically supported by theadministered objects of that business application/website. It iscontemplated that the newly-generated set of dynamic objects may workwith any administered objects to accomplish the aforementioned task ofusing the particular format or product.

In one embodiment, detection module 208 may be used to review therequest to determine the requested data types (e.g., dates, numbers,text, etc.) within the request so that a determination may be made as towhether the requested data types may be supported or provided indatabase 225 or imported. Detection module 208 may include scanner 208to not only scan various parts of the request, but also to scan anydata/metadata for data types when the data/metadata is uploaded fromdatabase 225. Database 225 may be accessed by and its uploading may betriggered using communication/access logic 220. In one embodiment, oncedetection and the subsequent scanning is completed by detection module208 and its scanner 209, decision module 210 determines and decideswhether the requested data types are available or may be imported andthat any necessary dynamic objects may be created to support therequested data types to facilitate the user-requested format/product.

Upon determining that the relevant data types for the requested formatare accessible, the corresponding dynamic objects may be created usingcreation module 212. The newly-created dynamic objects may then be usedwith any custom objects to satisfy the user request for the particularformat. In one embodiment, import module 214 may be used to importantany number of entities, such as data types, data, metadata, objects,etc. This importation may be local, such as import module 214 may workwith communication/access logic 220 to obtain any number and type ofentities from database 225, such as accessing an entity (e.g., data)directly from database 225 or through another entity, such as through areport (e.g., metadata relating to the data from a report), etc.,residing at database 225. The importation may be remote, such asobtaining any number and type of entities from any number and type ofremote sources, such as another database or server computer, etc., incommunication with the computing device employing dynamic objectsmechanism 110 over network 230.

Further, conversion module 216 may be used to perform various types ofconversions, such as converting one data type to another (e.g., fromtext to number, etc.), converting formats, converting objects, etc.Dynamic objects mechanism 110 further includes reporting logic 218 tofacilitate reporting-related tasks, such as generating reports (e.g.,default reports, customized reports, etc.), copying reports, deletingreports, amending reports, etc. Compatibility logic 222 allows fordynamic objects mechanism 110 to work with any number and types of datatypes, software products, client computing devices 240, networks 230,and the like.

It is contemplated that any number and type of components may be addedto and/or removed from dynamic objects mechanism 110 to facilitatevarious embodiments including adding, removing, and/or enhancing certainfeatures. For brevity, clarity, and ease of understanding of dynamicobjects mechanism 110, many of the standard and/or known components,such as those of a computing device, are not shown or discussed here. Itis contemplated that embodiments are not limited to any particulartechnology, topology, system, architecture, and/or standard and aredynamic enough to adopt and adapt to any future changes.

FIG. 3 illustrates a transaction sequence 300 for facilitatingmanagement and customization of lightweight objects according to oneembodiment. Transaction sequence 300 may be performed by processinglogic that may comprise hardware (e.g., circuitry, dedicated logic,programmable logic, etc.), software (such as instructions run on aprocessing device), or a combination thereof. In one embodiment,transaction sequence 300 may be performed by dynamic objects mechanism110 of FIG. 1.

In the illustrated embodiment, transaction sequence 300 begins with auser accessing a user interface 244 (e.g., an Internet browser, such asExplorer, Safari, etc.) at a client computing device for placing arequest 305 for data any associated metadata (e.g., accounting reporthaving the data/metadata) to be provided in a specific format (e.g.,Excel, Word, etc.) using a software product (e.g., Chatter, Facebook,etc.). The request is received and processed 310 at objects mechanism110 employed at a server computing device that is in communication withthe client computing device over a network (e.g., cloud-based network,the Internet, etc.). The processing of the request may includegenerating new dynamic lightweight objects if the default oradministered objects provided by the service provider (e.g.,owner/provider of the software product, such as Salesforce.com providingChatter) do not support the requested format.

Upon processing the request and generating the new dynamic objects, therequested data/metadata (including associated data types) is accessed315 from database 225 (maintain Table data, Table metadata, etc.). Therequested data/metadata is received 320 from database 225. Thedata/metadata is processed 325 so it may be provided in the requestformat and upon processing, the data/metadata is provided in therequested format 330, such as sharing an accounting spreadsheet in Excelformat with various members of an accounting group by posting thespreadsheet using the software product (such as on Chatter, Facebook,etc.).

FIG. 4 illustrates a method 400 for facilitating management andcustomization of lightweight objects according to one embodiment. Method400 may be performed by processing logic that may comprise hardware(e.g., circuitry, dedicated logic, programmable logic, etc.), software(such as instructions run on a processing device), or a combinationthereof. In one embodiment, method 400 may be performed by dynamicobjects mechanism 110 of FIG. 1.

Method 400 begins with receiving a request, at block 405, placed by auser by accessing a user interface (e.g., an Internet browser, such asExplorer, Safari, etc.) at a client computing device for data and anyassociated metadata (e.g., accounting report having the data/metadata)to be provided in a specific format (e.g., Excel, Word, etc.) using asoftware product/website (e.g., Chatter, Facebook, etc.). The request isreceived and processed at objects mechanism 110 of FIG. 1 that may beemployed at a server computing device that is in communication with theclient computing device over a network (e.g., cloud-based network, theInternet, etc.). The processing of the request may include generatingnew dynamic lightweight objects if the default or administered objectsprovided by the service provider (e.g., owner/provider of the softwareproduct, such as Salesforce.com providing Chatter) do not support therequested format.

At block 410, a determination is made as to whether the requested formatis supported by the administered objects of the service provider. Ifyes, at block 415, the process continues with using the relevant defaultor administered objects for generating the requested format. At block425, the process further continues with accessing the requesteddata/metadata from a local or remote database in communication with theserver computing device so that the data/metadata may be put into therequested format and provided to the user at the client computingdevice. At block 430, the requested data/metadata is provided via therequested format using the administered objects. As aforementioned, theproviding of the data/metadata may include, but is not limited to,posting or sharing a file (having the data/metadata) on the requestedsoftware product/website via the requested format.

Referring back to block 410, if the administered objects do not supportthe requested format, dynamic lightweight objects are generated at block420. At block 425, the requested data/metadata is accessed at thedatabase. The newly-generated lightweight objects are used to generatethe requested format so that the requested data/metadata may be providedin the requested format. It is contemplated that to achieve the task ofsupporting the requested format, certain default/administered objectsmay also be used or employed to provide default functionalities forwhich there may not be any need to generate new objects. At block 430,the requested data/metadata is provided via the requested format.

Referring to FIG. 8, it illustrates detecting and evaluating a data typein an input data file for generating relevant lightweight dynamic customobjects according to one embodiment. In the illustrated embodiment, whenan input data file is uploaded from a database, such as database 225 ofFIG. 2, detection module 208 (scanner 209) is triggered to detect thevarious data types 832-838 in columns 842-846 of the uploaded file. Forexample, data types may include, but are not limited to, lookup 832,date 834, number 836, text 838 (serving as the default data type), etc.In one embodiment, columns 842-846 of the data may be scanned, viascanner 209, to determine or detect the various data types 832-838.

For example and as illustrated, at block 802, column 842 is scanned todetermine whether the data type of column 842 is an ID or a record name.If yes, at block 822, a determination is made as to whether there areany additional rows so they may also be similarly checked. If there areno more rows, the data type is classified or interpreted as lookup 832.At block 822. If there are additional rows, the process continues withreading the additional rows at block 812, followed by a determination ofthe data type classification at block 802. If, at block 802, for anyrow, it is determined that the data type is neither an ID nor a recordname, the process continues at the next column 844 with decision block804 with another determination.

At block 804, a determination is made as to whether the data type is adate. If yes, at block 824, a determination is made as to whether thereare any additional rows to be evaluated. If not, the data type isclassified as date 834. If there are additional rows, the processcontinues with reading the next row and any subsequent rows at block 814and then moves on to perform another determination at block 804 as towhether the data type of these additional rows is a date. If not, theprocess continues with the next column 846 with another determination atblock 806.

At block 806, a determination is made as to whether the data type is anumber. If yes, at block 826, a determination is made as to whetherthere are any additional rows to be evaluated. If not, the data type isclassified as number 836. If there are additional rows, the processcontinues with reading the next row and any subsequent rows at block 816and then moves on to perform another determination at block 806 as towhether the data type of these additional rows is a number. If not, theprocess continues with classifying the data type as text 838, whichserves as a default data type.

In one embodiment, dynamic lightweight custom objects may beinstantiated from the input data containing any number of columns842-846 and rows. In one embodiment, detection module 208 in combinationwith scanner 209 my detect data types 832-838 by scanning or inspectingcolumns 842-846 to determine whether they fit into a particular datatype, such as relationship/lookup 832, date 834, number 836, text 838,etc. Once a data type 832-838 for each column 842-846 has beenidentified, dynamic objects mechanism 110 of FIG. 1 generates thecorresponding dynamic lightweight objects using strongly-typed fieldsbased on the input data. Further, a user interface may be used foruploading the data into the newly-generated dynamic objects and it iscontemplated that multiple input data types and locales (e.g., CVS, TSV,XLS, etc.) may be supported. Additionally, source file formats may beparsed to determine field types, while data may be imported in a bulkinsert.

In one embodiment, detection module 208 (scanner 209) of FIG. 2 may beused to keep trace of whether a dynamic object is available for use, isin progress, has failed, etc., and to surface that information in theUI. In some embodiments, an ENUM field may be added to a dynamic objectentity. These values may include: (1) NEW, which is set to the record orentity when the corresponding dynamic object is newly created, while thecorresponding dynamic object record may be created in the sametransaction as the enqueue event; (2) IN PROGRESS, which may be thefirst thing a message queue handler may do when dequeueing a message isto set the dynamic object status to IN PROGRESS and commit that change(e.g., using a second connection, if necessary); (3) FAILED may be setwhen there has been an irreconcilable error after a number of attempts(e.g., 3 or 4 attempts, etc.) have been made; and (4) SUCCESS may be setafter a queue message has been processed and the relevant data has beenimported in a table (e.g., core.my_entity_data).

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate processes 900, 950 in accordance with FIG. 8according to one embodiment. FIG. 9A illustrates a process 900 thatbegins with obtaining data by uploading an input data file 905. It iscontemplated that in some embodiments, the input data may not beuploaded and instead, it may be obtained from an existing data reportstored within the system, such as at a database. For example, reportsmay have an export to cvs process that may be leveraged to create theinput data. In one embodiment, once the input data 905 has beenuploaded, various data types are detected and classified at block 910 asdescribed with reference to FIG. 8. Upon detection of the data types andtheir corresponding classifications, metadata associated with the datais created at block 915. The data and associated metadata are stored atdatabase 225. The process of metadata creation may include generating aset of dynamic lightweight objects based on the data typesclassifications.

FIG. 9B illustrates a process 950 that beings with obtaining data byuploading an input data file 905, while metadata 965 is appended orimported, at block 960, having newly-generated dynamic lightweightobjects that is then stored at database 225. The data/metadata import,at block 960, may be performed using import module 214 of FIG. 2.

In one embodiment, import module 214 of FIG. 2 may facilitate import ofinput data files 955, while further facilitating a validation processfor validate the imported and other input data files 905, 955,performing an automatic data type check, etc. Data files 955 may beimported synchronously or asynchronously based on any number of factors,such as file size, import results, e-mail messages, etc. In oneembodiment, the process may include determining the size of data withina data file 955 to be imported as an object (e.g., dynamic lightweightobject), uploading the set of data based on the size of the data, and ifthe size is small, the uploading process may be performed synchronously,while if the size is large, the uploading process may be performedasynchronously.

In some embodiments, a user, via a user interface at a computing device,such as user interface 244 at computing device 240 of FIG. 2, mayautomatically create a new table based on contents of an input file 905,955. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the user may be allowed tocreate a table from scratch, such as similar to the process of importingdata, at block 960, by, for example, having define contents and scope ofthe table (without having the necessity for employing the imported dataevaluation process). The process may include prompting a user, via auser interface at a computing device, such as user interface 244 atcomputing device 240 of FIG. 2, for a providing a table definition forgenerating a table. The user's provided definition is received as arequest at request reception logic 204 of FIG. 2, while the request isprocessed by dynamic objects mechanism 110 and the table is generatedbased on the table definition.

In some embodiments, a user, via a user interface at a computing device,such as user interface 244 at computing device 240 of FIG. 2, mayautomatically create a new table based on contents of an input file 905,955, while the table may be created from a report, such as based on areport's definition and the underlying queried data. Further, in oneembodiment, the report's metadata and the queried data may betransformed into a physical table that includes the report data. Thetransformation may be performed by, for example, parsing the report toidentify columns and/or other subsets of the report data and then,automatically, defining column names with their correct data types,correct names, etc., while the report data may be automatically importedin to table. The table may then be provided to the user in response tothe request placed by the user, such as by displaying the table via asoftware application, such as a social or business network website(e.g., Chatter, Facebook, etc.). For example, the process may includereceiving a report at an on-demand services database, parsing the reportinto subsets of data, and generating a table based on the subsets of thedata.

Furthermore, in one embodiment, a user may be allowed to upsert (e.g.,upload and/or insert) data into an existing table; for example, if anExcel file is used to create dynamic lightweight objects, dynamicobjects mechanism 110 of FIG. 1 may facilitate the user the ability toupsert the same file (or other files, data from external data sources,etc.) in the same table. For example and in one embodiment, the processmay include receiving a data file to upsert into a dynamic lightweightobject of an on-demand services database, and upserting contents of thedata file into the dynamic lightweight object.

Referring now to FIG. 5, it illustrates a diagrammatic representation ofa machine 500 in the exemplary form of a computer system, in accordancewith one embodiment, within which a set of instructions, for causing themachine 500 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein, may be executed. Machine 500 is the same as or similar tocomputing device 100 and computing device 240 of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2,respectively. In alternative embodiments, the machine may be connected(e.g., networked) to other machines in a network (such as host machine100 of FIG. 1 connected with client machine 240 of FIG. 2 over network230), such as a cloud-based network, a Local Area Network (LAN), a WideArea Network (WAN), a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), a Personal AreaNetwork (PAN), an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet. The machinemay operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in aclient-server network environment, or as a peer machine in apeer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment or as a server orseries of servers within an on-demand service environment, including anon-demand environment providing multi-tenant database storage services.Certain embodiments of the machine may be in the form of a personalcomputer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal DigitalAssistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a server, anetwork router, switch or bridge, computing system, or any machinecapable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise)that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only asingle machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken toinclude any collection of machines (e.g., computers) that individuallyor jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to performany one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The exemplary computer system 500 includes a processor 502, a mainmemory 504 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM(RDRAM), etc., static memory such as flash memory, static random accessmemory (SRAM), volatile but high-data rate RAM, etc.), and a secondarymemory 518 (e.g., a persistent storage device including hard disk drivesand persistent multi-tenant data base implementations), whichcommunicate with each other via a bus 530. Main memory 504 includesemitted execution data 524 (e.g., data emitted by a logging framework)and one or more trace preferences 523 which operate in conjunction withprocessing logic 526 and processor 502 to perform the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

Processor 502 represents one or more general-purpose processing devicessuch as a microprocessor, central processing unit, or the like. Moreparticularly, the processor 502 may be a complex instruction setcomputing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction set computing(RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor,processor implementing other instruction sets, or processorsimplementing a combination of instruction sets. Processor 502 may alsobe one or more special-purpose processing devices such as an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array(FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor, or thelike. Processor 502 is configured to execute the processing logic 526for performing the operations and functionality of dynamic objectsmechanism 110 as described with reference to FIG. 1 and other figuresdiscussed herein.

The computer system 500 may further include a network interface card508. The computer system 500 also may include a user interface 510 (suchas a video display unit, a liquid crystal display (LCD), or a cathoderay tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device 512 (e.g., a keyboard), acursor control device 514 (e.g., a mouse), and a signal generationdevice 516 (e.g., an integrated speaker). The computer system 500 mayfurther include peripheral device 536 (e.g., wireless or wiredcommunication devices, memory devices, storage devices, audio processingdevices, video processing devices, etc. The computer system 500 mayfurther include a Hardware based API logging framework 534 capable ofexecuting incoming requests for services and emitting execution dataresponsive to the fulfillment of such incoming requests.

The secondary memory 518 may include a machine-readable storage medium(or more specifically a machine-accessible storage medium) 531 on whichis stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 522)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions of dynamicobjects mechanism 110 as described with reference to FIG. 1 and otherfigures described herein. The software 522 may also reside, completelyor at least partially, within the main memory 504 and/or within theprocessor 502 during execution thereof by the computer system 500, themain memory 504 and the processor 502 also constituting machine-readablestorage media. The software 522 may further be transmitted or receivedover a network 520 via the network interface card 508. Themachine-readable storage medium 531 may include transitory ornon-transitory machine-readable storage media.

Portions of various embodiments may be provided as a computer programproduct, which may include a computer-readable medium having storedthereon computer program instructions, which may be used to program acomputer (or other electronic devices) to perform a process according tothe embodiments. The machine-readable medium may include, but is notlimited to, floppy diskettes, optical disks, compact disk read-onlymemory (CD-ROM), and magneto-optical disks, ROM, RAM, erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically EPROM (EEPROM),magnet or optical cards, flash memory, or other type ofmedia/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronicinstructions.

The techniques shown in the figures can be implemented using code anddata stored and executed on one or more electronic devices (e.g., an endstation, a network element). Such electronic devices store andcommunicate (internally and/or with other electronic devices over anetwork) code and data using computer-readable media, such asnon-transitory computer-readable storage media (e.g., magnetic disks;optical disks; random access memory; read only memory; flash memorydevices; phase-change memory) and transitory computer-readabletransmission media (e.g., electrical, optical, acoustical or other formof propagated signals—such as carrier waves, infrared signals, digitalsignals). In addition, such electronic devices typically include a setof one or more processors coupled to one or more other components, suchas one or more storage devices (non-transitory machine-readable storagemedia), user input/output devices (e.g., a keyboard, a touchscreen,and/or a display), and network connections. The coupling of the set ofprocessors and other components is typically through one or more bussesand bridges (also termed as bus controllers). Thus, the storage deviceof a given electronic device typically stores code and/or data forexecution on the set of one or more processors of that electronicdevice. Of course, one or more parts of an embodiment may be implementedusing different combinations of software, firmware, and/or hardware.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an environment 610 wherein anon-demand database service might be used. Environment 610 may includeuser systems 612, network 614, system 616, processor system 617,application platform 618, network interface 620, tenant data storage622, system data storage 624, program code 626, and process space 628.In other embodiments, environment 610 may not have all of the componentslisted and/or may have other elements instead of, or in addition to,those listed above.

Environment 610 is an environment in which an on-demand database serviceexists. User system 612 may be any machine or system that is used by auser to access a database user system. For example, any of user systems612 can be a handheld computing device, a mobile phone, a laptopcomputer, a work station, and/or a network of computing devices. Asillustrated in herein FIG. 6 (and in more detail in FIG. 7) user systems612 might interact via a network 614 with an on-demand database service,which is system 616.

An on-demand database service, such as system 616, is a database systemthat is made available to outside users that do not need to necessarilybe concerned with building and/or maintaining the database system, butinstead may be available for their use when the users need the databasesystem (e.g., on the demand of the users). Some on-demand databaseservices may store information from one or more tenants stored intotables of a common database image to form a multi-tenant database system(MTS). Accordingly, “on-demand database service 616” and “system 616”will be used interchangeably herein. A database image may include one ormore database objects. A relational database management system (RDMS) orthe equivalent may execute storage and retrieval of information againstthe database object(s). Application platform 618 may be a framework thatallows the applications of system 616 to run, such as the hardwareand/or software, e.g., the operating system. In an embodiment, on-demanddatabase service 616 may include an application platform 618 thatenables creation, managing and executing one or more applicationsdeveloped by the provider of the on-demand database service, usersaccessing the on-demand database service via user systems 612, or thirdparty application developers accessing the on-demand database servicevia user systems 612.

The users of user systems 612 may differ in their respective capacities,and the capacity of a particular user system 612 might be entirelydetermined by permissions (permission levels) for the current user. Forexample, where a salesperson is using a particular user system 612 tointeract with system 616, that user system has the capacities allottedto that salesperson. However, while an administrator is using that usersystem to interact with system 616, that user system has the capacitiesallotted to that administrator. In systems with a hierarchical rolemodel, users at one permission level may have access to applications,data, and database information accessible by a lower permission leveluser, but may not have access to certain applications, databaseinformation, and data accessible by a user at a higher permission level.Thus, different users will have different capabilities with regard toaccessing and modifying application and database information, dependingon a user's security or permission level.

Network 614 is any network or combination of networks of devices thatcommunicate with one another. For example, network 614 can be any one orany combination of a LAN (local area network), WAN (wide area network),telephone network, wireless network, point-to-point network, starnetwork, token ring network, hub network, or other appropriateconfiguration. As the most common type of computer network in currentuse is a TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol and Internet Protocol)network, such as the global internetwork of networks often referred toas the “Internet” with a capital “I,” that network will be used in manyof the examples herein. However, it should be understood that thenetworks that one or more implementations might use are not so limited,although TCP/IP is a frequently implemented protocol.

User systems 612 might communicate with system 616 using TCP/IP and, ata higher network level, use other common Internet protocols tocommunicate, such as HTTP, FTP, AFS, WAP, etc. In an example where HTTPis used, user system 612 might include an HTTP client commonly referredto as a “browser” for sending and receiving HTTP messages to and from anHTTP server at system 616. Such an HTTP server might be implemented asthe sole network interface between system 616 and network 614, but othertechniques might be used as well or instead. In some implementations,the interface between system 616 and network 614 includes load sharingfunctionality, such as round-robin HTTP request distributors to balanceloads and distribute incoming HTTP requests evenly over a plurality ofservers. At least as for the users that are accessing that server, eachof the plurality of servers has access to the MTS' data; however, otheralternative configurations may be used instead.

In one embodiment, system 616, shown in FIG. 6, implements a web-basedcustomer relationship management (CRM) system. For example, in oneembodiment, system 616 includes application servers configured toimplement and execute CRM software applications as well as providerelated data, code, forms, webpages and other information to and fromuser systems 612 and to store to, and retrieve from, a database systemrelated data, objects, and Webpage content. With a multi-tenant system,data for multiple tenants may be stored in the same physical databaseobject, however, tenant data typically is arranged so that data of onetenant is kept logically separate from that of other tenants so that onetenant does not have access to another tenant's data, unless such datais expressly shared. In certain embodiments, system 616 implementsapplications other than, or in addition to, a CRM application. Forexample, system 616 may provide tenant access to multiple hosted(standard and custom) applications, including a CRM application. User(or third party developer) applications, which may or may not includeCRM, may be supported by the application platform 618, which managescreation, storage of the applications into one or more database objectsand executing of the applications in a virtual machine in the processspace of the system 616.

One arrangement for elements of system 616 is shown in FIG. 6, includinga network interface 620, application platform 618, tenant data storage622 for tenant data 623, system data storage 624 for system data 625accessible to system 616 and possibly multiple tenants, program code 626for implementing various functions of system 616, and a process space628 for executing MTS system processes and tenant-specific processes,such as running applications as part of an application hosting service.Additional processes that may execute on system 616 include databaseindexing processes.

Several elements in the system shown in FIG. 6 include conventional,well-known elements that are explained only briefly here. For example,each user system 612 could include a desktop personal computer,workstation, laptop, PDA, cell phone, or any wireless access protocol(WAP) enabled device or any other computing device capable ofinterfacing directly or indirectly to the Internet or other networkconnection. User system 612 typically runs an HTTP client, e.g., abrowsing program, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser,Netscape's Navigator browser, Opera's browser, or a WAP-enabled browserin the case of a cell phone, PDA or other wireless device, or the like,allowing a user (e.g., subscriber of the multi-tenant database system)of user system 612 to access, process and view information, pages andapplications available to it from system 616 over network 614. Each usersystem 612 also typically includes one or more user interface devices,such as a keyboard, a mouse, trackball, touch pad, touch screen, pen orthe like, for interacting with a graphical user interface (GUI) providedby the browser on a display (e.g., a monitor screen, LCD display, etc.)in conjunction with pages, forms, applications and other informationprovided by system 616 or other systems or servers. For example, theuser interface device can be used to access data and applications hostedby system 616, and to perform searches on stored data, and otherwiseallow a user to interact with various GUI pages that may be presented toa user. As discussed above, embodiments are suitable for use with theInternet, which refers to a specific global internetwork of networks.However, it should be understood that other networks can be used insteadof the Internet, such as an intranet, an extranet, a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), a non-TCP/IP based network, any LAN or WAN or the like.

According to one embodiment, each user system 612 and all of itscomponents are operator configurable using applications, such as abrowser, including computer code run using a central processing unitsuch as an Intel Pentium® processor or the like. Similarly, system 616(and additional instances of an MTS, where more than one is present) andall of their components might be operator configurable usingapplication(s) including computer code to run using a central processingunit such as processor system 617, which may include an Intel Pentium®processor or the like, and/or multiple processor units. A computerprogram product embodiment includes a machine-readable storage medium(media) having instructions stored thereon/in which can be used toprogram a computer to perform any of the processes of the embodimentsdescribed herein. Computer code for operating and configuring system 616to intercommunicate and to process webpages, applications and other dataand media content as described herein are preferably downloaded andstored on a hard disk, but the entire program code, or portions thereof,may also be stored in any other volatile or non-volatile memory mediumor device as is well known, such as a ROM or RAM, or provided on anymedia capable of storing program code, such as any type of rotatingmedia including floppy disks, optical discs, digital versatile disk(DVD), compact disk (CD), microdrive, and magneto-optical disks, andmagnetic or optical cards, nanosystems (including molecular memory ICs),or any type of media or device suitable for storing instructions and/ordata. Additionally, the entire program code, or portions thereof, may betransmitted and downloaded from a software source over a transmissionmedium, e.g., over the Internet, or from another server, as is wellknown, or transmitted over any other conventional network connection asis well known (e.g., extranet, VPN, LAN, etc.) using any communicationmedium and protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, HTTP, HTTPS, Ethernet, etc.) as arewell known. It will also be appreciated that computer code forimplementing embodiments can be implemented in any programming languagethat can be executed on a client system and/or server or server systemsuch as, for example, C, C++, HTML, any other markup language, Java™,JavaScript, ActiveX, any other scripting language, such as VBScript, andmany other programming languages as are well known may be used. (Java™is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.).

According to one embodiment, each system 616 is configured to providewebpages, forms, applications, data and media content to user (client)systems 612 to support the access by user systems 612 as tenants ofsystem 616. As such, system 616 provides security mechanisms to keepeach tenant's data separate unless the data is shared. If more than oneMTS is used, they may be located in close proximity to one another(e.g., in a server farm located in a single building or campus), or theymay be distributed at locations remote from one another (e.g., one ormore servers located in city A and one or more servers located in cityB). As used herein, each MTS could include one or more logically and/orphysically connected servers distributed locally or across one or moregeographic locations. Additionally, the term “server” is meant toinclude a computer system, including processing hardware and processspace(s), and an associated storage system and database application(e.g., OODBMS or RDBMS) as is well known in the art. It should also beunderstood that “server system” and “server” are often usedinterchangeably herein. Similarly, the database object described hereincan be implemented as single databases, a distributed database, acollection of distributed databases, a database with redundant online oroffline backups or other redundancies, etc., and might include adistributed database or storage network and associated processingintelligence.

FIG. 7 also illustrates environment 610. However, in FIG. 7 elements ofsystem 616 and various interconnections in an embodiment are furtherillustrated. FIG. 7 shows that user system 612 may include processorsystem 612A, memory system 612B, input system 612C, and output system612D. FIG. 7 shows network 614 and system 616. FIG. 7 also shows thatsystem 616 may include tenant data storage 622, tenant data 623, systemdata storage 624, system data 625, User Interface (UI) 730, ApplicationProgram Interface (API) 732, PL/SOQL 734, save routines 736, applicationsetup mechanism 738, applications servers 700 ₁-700 _(N), system processspace 702, tenant process spaces 704, tenant management process space710, tenant storage area 712, user storage 714, and application metadata716. In other embodiments, environment 610 may not have the sameelements as those listed above and/or may have other elements insteadof, or in addition to, those listed above.

User system 612, network 614, system 616, tenant data storage 622, andsystem data storage 624 were discussed above in FIG. 6. Regarding usersystem 612, processor system 612A may be any combination of one or moreprocessors. Memory system 612B may be any combination of one or morememory devices, short term, and/or long term memory. Input system 612Cmay be any combination of input devices, such as one or more keyboards,mice, trackballs, scanners, cameras, and/or interfaces to networks.Output system 612D may be any combination of output devices, such as oneor more monitors, printers, and/or interfaces to networks. As shown byFIG. 7, system 616 may include a network interface 620 (of FIG. 6)implemented as a set of HTTP application servers 700, an applicationplatform 618, tenant data storage 622, and system data storage 624. Alsoshown is system process space 702, including individual tenant processspaces 704 and a tenant management process space 710. Each applicationserver 700 may be configured to tenant data storage 622 and the tenantdata 623 therein, and system data storage 624 and the system data 625therein to serve requests of user systems 612. The tenant data 623 mightbe divided into individual tenant storage areas 712, which can be eithera physical arrangement and/or a logical arrangement of data. Within eachtenant storage area 712, user storage 714 and application metadata 716might be similarly allocated for each user. For example, a copy of auser's most recently used (MRU) items might be stored to user storage714. Similarly, a copy of MRU items for an entire organization that is atenant might be stored to tenant storage area 712. A UI 730 provides auser interface and an API 732 provides an application programmerinterface to system 616 resident processes to users and/or developers atuser systems 612. The tenant data and the system data may be stored invarious databases, such as one or more Oracle™ databases.

Application platform 618 includes an application setup mechanism 738that supports application developers' creation and management ofapplications, which may be saved as metadata into tenant data storage622 by save routines 736 for execution by subscribers as one or moretenant process spaces 704 managed by tenant management process 710 forexample. Invocations to such applications may be coded using PL/SOQL 734that provides a programming language style interface extension to API732. A detailed description of some PL/SOQL language embodiments isdiscussed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,730,478 entitled, “Methodand System for Allowing Access to Developed Applicants via aMulti-Tenant Database On-Demand Database Service”, issued Jun. 1, 2010to Craig Weissman, which is incorporated in its entirety herein for allpurposes. Invocations to applications may be detected by one or moresystem processes, which manage retrieving application metadata 716 forthe subscriber making the invocation and executing the metadata as anapplication in a virtual machine.

Each application server 700 may be communicably coupled to databasesystems, e.g., having access to system data 625 and tenant data 623, viaa different network connection. For example, one application server 700₁ might be coupled via the network 614 (e.g., the Internet), anotherapplication server 700 _(N-1) might be coupled via a direct networklink, and another application server 700 _(N) might be coupled by yet adifferent network connection. Transfer Control Protocol and InternetProtocol (TCP/IP) are typical protocols for communicating betweenapplication servers 700 and the database system. However, it will beapparent to one skilled in the art that other transport protocols may beused to optimize the system depending on the network interconnect used.

In certain embodiments, each application server 700 is configured tohandle requests for any user associated with any organization that is atenant. Because it is desirable to be able to add and remove applicationservers from the server pool at any time for any reason, there ispreferably no server affinity for a user and/or organization to aspecific application server 700. In one embodiment, therefore, aninterface system implementing a load balancing function (e.g., an F5BIG-IP load balancer) is communicably coupled between the applicationservers 700 and the user systems 612 to distribute requests to theapplication servers 700. In one embodiment, the load balancer uses aleast connections algorithm to route user requests to the applicationservers 700. Other examples of load balancing algorithms, such as roundrobin and observed response time, also can be used. For example, incertain embodiments, three consecutive requests from the same user couldhit three different application servers 700, and three requests fromdifferent users could hit the same application server 700. In thismanner, system 616 is multi-tenant, wherein system 616 handles storageof, and access to, different objects, data and applications acrossdisparate users and organizations.

As an example of storage, one tenant might be a company that employs asales force where each salesperson uses system 616 to manage their salesprocess. Thus, a user might maintain contact data, leads data, customerfollow-up data, performance data, goals and progress data, etc., allapplicable to that user's personal sales process (e.g., in tenant datastorage 622). In an example of a MTS arrangement, since all of the dataand the applications to access, view, modify, report, transmit,calculate, etc., can be maintained and accessed by a user system havingnothing more than network access, the user can manage his or her salesefforts and cycles from any of many different user systems. For example,if a salesperson is visiting a customer and the customer has Internetaccess in their lobby, the salesperson can obtain critical updates as tothat customer while waiting for the customer to arrive in the lobby.

While each user's data might be separate from other users' dataregardless of the employers of each user, some data might beorganization-wide data shared or accessible by a plurality of users orall of the users for a given organization that is a tenant. Thus, theremight be some data structures managed by system 616 that are allocatedat the tenant level while other data structures might be managed at theuser level. Because an MTS might support multiple tenants includingpossible competitors, the MTS should have security protocols that keepdata, applications, and application use separate. Also, because manytenants may opt for access to an MTS rather than maintain their ownsystem, redundancy, up-time, and backup are additional functions thatmay be implemented in the MTS. In addition to user-specific data andtenant specific data, system 616 might also maintain system level datausable by multiple tenants or other data. Such system level data mightinclude industry reports, news, postings, and the like that are sharableamong tenants.

In certain embodiments, user systems 612 (which may be client systems)communicate with application servers 700 to request and updatesystem-level and tenant-level data from system 616 that may requiresending one or more queries to tenant data storage 622 and/or systemdata storage 624. System 616 (e.g., an application server 700 in system616) automatically generates one or more SQL statements (e.g., one ormore SQL queries) that are designed to access the desired information.System data storage 624 may generate query plans to access the requesteddata from the database.

Each database can generally be viewed as a collection of objects, suchas a set of logical tables, containing data fitted into predefinedcategories. A “table” is one representation of a data object, and may beused herein to simplify the conceptual description of objects and customobjects. It should be understood that “table” and “object” may be usedinterchangeably herein. Each table generally contains one or more datacategories logically arranged as columns or fields in a viewable schema.Each row or record of a table contains an instance of data for eachcategory defined by the fields. For example, a CRM database may includea table that describes a customer with fields for basic contactinformation such as name, address, phone number, fax number, etc.Another table might describe a purchase order, including fields forinformation such as customer, product, sale price, date, etc. In somemulti-tenant database systems, standard entity tables might be providedfor use by all tenants. For CRM database applications, such standardentities might include tables for Account, Contact, Lead, andOpportunity data, each containing pre-defined fields. It should beunderstood that the word “entity” may also be used interchangeablyherein with “object” and “table”.

In some multi-tenant database systems, tenants may be allowed to createand store custom objects, or they may be allowed to customize standardentities or objects, for example by creating custom fields for standardobjects, including custom index fields. U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/817,161, filed Apr. 2, 2004, entitled “Custom Entities and Fields ina Multi-Tenant Database System”, and which is hereby incorporated hereinby reference, teaches systems and methods for creating custom objects aswell as customizing standard objects in a multi-tenant database system.In certain embodiments, for example, all custom entity data rows arestored in a single multi-tenant physical table, which may containmultiple logical tables per organization. It is transparent to customersthat their multiple “tables” are in fact stored in one large table orthat their data may be stored in the same table as the data of othercustomers.

Any of the above embodiments may be used alone or together with oneanother in any combination. Embodiments encompassed within thisspecification may also include embodiments that are only partiallymentioned or alluded to or are not mentioned or alluded to at all inthis brief summary or in the abstract. Although various embodiments mayhave been motivated by various deficiencies with the prior art, whichmay be discussed or alluded to in one or more places in thespecification, the embodiments do not necessarily address any of thesedeficiencies. In other words, different embodiments may addressdifferent deficiencies that may be discussed in the specification. Someembodiments may only partially address some deficiencies or just onedeficiency that may be discussed in the specification, and someembodiments may not address any of these deficiencies.

While one or more implementations have been described by way of exampleand in terms of the specific embodiments, it is to be understood thatone or more implementations are not limited to the disclosedembodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover variousmodifications and similar arrangements as would be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims shouldbe accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all suchmodifications and similar arrangements. It is to be understood that theabove description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: uploading, by a productcustomization server device, in response to a request, a data filehaving data associated with a tenant in a multi-tenant database system,wherein the request identifies a default product for customization andincludes one or more customization preferences of the tenant; detecting,by the product customization server device, data types relating to thedata, wherein detecting includes scanning data rows and data columns ofthe data file; classifying, by the product customization server device,the detected data types into one or more categories based on the one ormore customization preferences of the tenant; creating, by the productcustomization server device, one or more dynamic objects based on thedetected data types and the one or more categories; and configuring, bythe product customization server device, the default product into acustomized product accessible to the tenant by associating the one ormore dynamic objects to the default product.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving, at the product customization serverdevice, the request for the data file having the data and associatedmetadata to be provided in a format that is not supported by defaultobjects of a software application; generating, by the productcustomization server device, the requested format using the one or moredynamic objects; and providing, by the product customization serverdevice, the data file in the requested format via the softwareapplication.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the request is placed,via a user interface, at a client computing device having a mobilecomputing device, wherein the request is placed by a user as anindividual or serving as a representative of an organization, whereinthe organization includes a customer of a service provider that is anowner or provider of the software application.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the software application comprises one or more of a businesssoftware application, a business networking website, and a socialnetworking website.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the productcustomization server device is coupled to the client computing deviceover a network, wherein the network includes one or more of acloud-based network, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network(WAN), a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), a Personal Area Network (PAN),an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet.
 6. The method of claim 1,further comprising: authenticating, in real-time, by the productcustomization server device, the request prior to processing therequest; and determining, by the product customization server device,whether the request format is supported by default objects of thesoftware application, prior to generating the one or more dynamicobjects.
 7. The method of claim 2, wherein the format is compatible withone or more of a word processing application, a spreadsheet application,and a presentation application, a database application, and wherein thefile comprises one or more of a word processing file, a spreadsheetfile, a presentation file, and a database file.
 8. The method of claim2, further comprising accessing, by the product customization serverdevice, the data and the associated metadata stored at a database,wherein the database is coupled to the first computing device.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein providing the data file comprises displayingor sharing the data file via the software application via the userinterface including an Internet browser, and wherein providing the filefurther comprises generating a report relating to the data file, andwherein the report is displayed or shared via the software applicationvia the user interface.
 10. A system comprising: a product customizationserver device having a memory to store instructions, and a processingdevice coupled to the memory, the processing device to execute theinstructions to: upload, in response to a request, a data file havingdata associated with a tenant in a multi-tenant database system, whereinthe request identifies a default product for customization and includesone or more customization preferences of the tenant; detect data typesrelating to the data, wherein detecting includes scanning data rows anddata columns of the data file; classify the detected data types into oneor more categories based on the one or more customization preferences ofthe tenant; create one or more dynamic objects based on the detecteddata types and the one or more categories; and configuring the defaultproduct into a customized product accessible to the tenant byassociating the one or more dynamic objects to the default product. 11.The system of claim 10, wherein the processing device is further to:receive the request for the data file having the data and associatedmetadata to be provided in a format that is not supported by defaultobjects of a software application; generate the requested format usingthe one or more dynamic objects; and provide the data file in therequested format via the software application.
 12. The system of claim11, wherein the request is placed, via a user interface, at a clientcomputing device having a mobile computing device, wherein the requestis placed by a user as an individual or serving as a representative ofan organization, wherein the organization includes a customer of aservice provider that is an owner or provider of the softwareapplication.
 13. The system, of claim 12, wherein the softwareapplication comprises one or more of a business software application, abusiness networking website, and a social networking website.
 14. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the product customization server devicecomprises is coupled to the client computing device over a network,wherein the network includes one or more of a cloud-based network, aLocal Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Metropolitan AreaNetwork (MAN), a Personal Area Network (PAN), an intranet, an extranet,or the Internet.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein the processingdevice is further to: authenticate, in real-time, the request prior toprocessing the request; and determine whether the request format issupported by default objects of the software application, prior togenerating the one or more dynamic objects.
 16. A non-transitorymachine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, whenexecuted by a machine, cause the machine to: upload, in response to arequest, a data file having data associated with a tenant in amulti-tenant database system, wherein the request identifies a defaultproduct for customization and includes one or more customizationpreferences of the tenant; detect data types relating to the data,wherein detecting includes scanning data rows and data columns of thedata file; classify the detected data types into one or more categoriesbased on the one or more customization preferences of the tenant; createone or more dynamic objects based on the detected data types and the oneor more categories; and configuring the default product into acustomized product accessible to the tenant by associating the one ormore dynamic objects to the default product.
 17. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the machine is further to:receive the request for the data file having the data and associatedmetadata to be provided in a format that is not supported by defaultobjects of a software application; generate the requested format usingthe one or more dynamic objects; and provide the data file in therequested format via the software application.
 18. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the request is placed, viaa user interface, at a client computing device having a mobile computingdevice, wherein the request is placed by a user as an individual orserving as a representative of an organization, wherein the organizationincludes a customer of a service provider that is an owner or providerof the software application.
 19. The non-transitory machine-readablemedium of claim 18, wherein the software application comprises one ormore of a business software application, a business networking website,and a social networking website, wherein the product customizationserver device is coupled to the client computing device over a network,wherein the network includes one or more of a cloud-based network, aLocal Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Metropolitan AreaNetwork (MAN), a Personal Area Network (PAN), an intranet, an extranet,or the Internet.
 20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim16, wherein the machine is further to: authenticate, in real-time, therequest prior to processing the request; and determine whether therequest format is supported by default objects of the softwareapplication, prior to generating the one or more dynamic objects.